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Brio and Bravo Italian restaurants may never reopen due to parent company's bankruptcy

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The Anchor opened in the white-hot restaurant scene of 2012, and closed in February. Alternative: for seafood, I'm going to say Mitchell's the Streets of West Chester. For a lively OTR restaurant, you have all of Vine Street from which to choose. The space is now Losanti steakhouse. Provided

Troy’s Café in Mason closed in April and then the West Chester cafe closed in October. Alternative: Try out or Maplewood in Deerfield Township or Northstar Cafe in Liberty Center, though neither has the same cozy, chef-owned vibe. Coming to the Mason space: A new brick and mortar location for food truck Empanadas Aqui. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson

Smoq in Fairfield was a good Southern restaurant with smoked fried chicken, good barbecue. Alternative: Quite close by is Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, which is a different kind of Southern restaurant, and pretty good, as I recall. The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Myrtle’s Punch House. Alternative: Nobody else has that punch concept, but go to Japp's for more of Molly Wellmann's mixology. Now in the space: Twenties, a Prohibition-themed bar(opened Jan. 2). Enquirer file

The Farmstand at Wooden Cask Brewery in Newport is gone. Alternatives: The original Farmstand in Union. Now in the location is The Drunken Hog, a barbecue restaurant that took over the space.
The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran

Cock and Bull on the corner of Erie and Edwards also closed in May. Alternative: For the British pub: Original Cock and Bull, or Molly Mallone's, both in Covington. The space is now Mesa Loca.
File/The Enquirer

Pizzelii, my favorite assembly-line pizza place in Columbia Township near 50 West Brewery. Alternative: Not another assembly-line pizza like Blaze or Rapid fire. At least, I don't really think any of them are particularly good. See prior suggestions for MidiCi replacements. Shae Combs for The Enquirer

MidiCi was a wood-fired pizza restaurant Downtown. Alternative: Lots of wood-fired pizza places from Joe's Napoli in Milford to Camparossa in Fort Mitchell. The closest is A Tavola in OTR. The Enquirer/Meg Vogel

Eighth and English in O'Bryonville took over a sort of cursed space at the corner of Madison and O’Bryon then closed after two and a half years. Alternative: No one else specializes in Italian seafood, but maybe Via Vite? The space is now empty, and you'd have to be brave to locate in it. The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar

CHX, the fried-chicken nugget restaurant next to Three Points Brewery in Pendleton closed to the public, though the space will be used for functions at the brewery. Alternative: City Bird, in OTR, Harper's Point and eventually any more locations coming to your neighborhood. Enquirer/Polly Campbell

Ludlow Bromley Yacht Clubclosed after a barge banged into it. Alternative: Nothing really because nothing was like it. Maybe, across the river, The Cabana on the River in Fernbank? Albert Cesare / The Enquirer

Kaze in Over-the-Rhine. The Thunderdome Group had just finished re-vamping the menu at this Japanese restaurant they took over. Now they're going to turn it into a different concept. Alternative: The new Kiki in College Hill or Zundo Ramen on 12th Street. Enquirer/Polly Campbell

When the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and restaurants can operate again, there will be some that will not reopen. Among them will be at least some of the restaurants in the Brio Italian Mediterranean and Bravo Fresh Italian dining chains.

The parent of the brands has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has closed 71 of its 92 restaurants. The Bravo location in the Rookwood Exchange in Norwood is permanently closed, according to its Open Table listing.

According to a story in Restaurant Business, management of the chain's owner, FoodFirst Global Restaurants, said the restaurants had been struggling even before the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, 10 stores were closed and they were looking at more closings.

The chain was originally opened in Columbus in 1992 by Chris and Rick Doody. They grew it to a chain with locations in 19 states. They sold it in 2018 and the chain was rebranded as FoodFirst Global Restaurants and operated from Orlando, Florida.